Caught
by Abidilydaly131
Summary: When a killer uses local bars as his hunting ground, Liv and EL must go undercover as a married couple. But when El reveals something he's been hiding, things get complicated! E/O! Better than summary! R&R! First Fanfic, Ever!
1. Chapter 1

So this is my first fanfiction EVER! I am super excited about this! I'm not quite sure if it's good enough, but I would really appreciate it if you R&R! I will post the 1st chapter, and wait for reviews before posting the rest!

Note: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING!

Also: this takes place somewhere within seasons 11 and 12...

_**Caught**_

_**An SVU fanfiction**_

_**First Chapter**_

5:23 am

Sally Anthony was running. Her heart raced as she made her way through the uncommonly busy city she called "home." She stopped on a street corner, and checked her watch.

5:27 am

Where was Rachel?

Sally paced up and down, catching her breath. The morning air chilled her to the bone, but she liked it. She looked back at her watch.

5:30 am

Where was Rachel?

Sally's best friend, and morning-jog buddy was never late. _Ever_. Well, that is unless her fiancé, Peter, had stopped by the night before…

Sally chuckled. That had to be the reason her friend was late. Rachel and her fiancé probably had a late night last night. A _really_ late night.

Sally decided to surprise her love-struck friend. Rachel's apartment building wasn't too far, so Sally walked in that direction.

5:45 am

"Rach? Hello?" Sally knocked cautiously on apartment 2A's door. She tried the handle, and, much to her surprise, it opened, "Yeah, Rachel, your door is unlocked! Ah, man…" Sally wriggled her noise at the slightly messy living room her friend was oh so proud of, "Really, Rachel…You need a maid, or something…Jesus Christ, is that a lava lamp?" She sneered at the hippy artifact on the coffee table. It was only one of the many items her tomboy friend had come to cherish," It's a good thing Peter has _some_ taste, or else your guys' house would look like a college dorm room! Yo, Rachel, are you even up?" Sally walked over to the bedroom door, and knocked harshly," Come on, Rach! I don't care how amazing the sex was, you DO NOT want fat wedding photos!" She opened the door, expecting to find her friend sound asleep, but was horrified to find this was not the case, "Oh my god!" Sally let out a deathly scream, and raced for the phone in the kitchen.

"9-1-1, what is your emergency?"

Sally stuttered as she glanced back and forth from Rachel and Peter. Rachel was stripped down to her panties and a rope was tied around her neck, strangling the life out of her. Her eyes were cold with death, and her whole body was covered in bruises.

Peter was lying in a pool of blood, with a knife dug deep in his back. The crimson blood had already begun to seep into the carpet of Rachel's bedroom.

"My…m-my friend's b-been m-m-murdered!"

*queue theme song* hehehe

7:00 am

Detective Elliot Stabler lied wide awake in bed. He was alert and full of energy, which was weird for so early in the morning. His physical body was excited and anxious, but his inner self was worn down with thoughts of other things. His family, his kids, Cathy, Eli, Olivia….

_Olivia?_

He sat up

_Why am I thinking of her?_

He let out a frustrated sigh

_Man, I've got to stop this…_

He was beginning to drift back to sleep, but another thought crossed his mind: _What_ exactly did he need to stop?

His mind wandered from his kids, to Olivia, to Cathy, to Eli and then back to Olivia…

He tried to convince himself that his sleep deprivation was the reason he was thinking about…her…

*bzzzzz**bzzzzzz*

Elliot reached to grab his cell-phone from off the side table.

"Stabler," he whispered into the phone.

It was Cragen, "Hey, sorry to wake you, but we've got another case…" He read off an address and Elliot wrote it down on an old napkin, "Olivia will meet-"

"Yeah, thanks Cap'." Elliot cut him off and ended the call. He let out another sigh.

Another case, another perp, another victim.

Another Day.

7:30 am

"Good morning, Sunshine!" Detective Olivia Benson greeted her partner as he approached the crime scene. She noticed his unusually disheartened expression, "You OK?" She asked, growing concerned.

Elliot nodded mindlessly, "Yeah sure…What have we got?"

Olivia began to fill him in, "Rachel Andrews and Peter Carlton, both mid-thirties. Peter," she pointed to the man lying on the floor, "was Rachel's fiancé, according to her friend, Sally Anthony, who found the bodies."

Elliot looked around the room, absorbing what he saw and heard.

"And how'd the perp get in?" He asked.

"Sally told me that the door was unlocked when she came here this morning at around 5:45. CSU found no sign of forced entry on the door or the four windows into the apartment. So…"

"So they must have known him enough to open the door to him…" Elliot finished Olivia's sentence.

She nodded in return.

They stood gazing at the scene before them. They were used to this: standing in a crime scene, loathing the world they tried so hard to protect. Both Olivia and Elliot felt it their duty to speak for the victims and defend the innocent, while guarding the city against pedophiles and rapists. But with every convicted perp, comes another one, more horrible than the first; with every victim who can sleep at night, there is one more whose nightmares are only the beginning. It never seems to end.

ME. Warner and a new Techie interrupted their concentrated reverie, and began to walk them through the scene.

"The perp went after Peter first; silently from behind. Rachel was next. She must have put up a hell of a fight, because there are defensive wounds up and down her arms," Melinda said.

The techie continued explaining as Warner went to further inspect the victim lying in the bed, "Yeah, he grabbed her, and started punching her. Then he pushed her onto the bed, and pulled off her dress. We found the dress under the bed. Anyway, once he was done…you know…"

"Raping her?" Elliot chimed in.

"Yeah, that…he took this rope to strangle her, and he tied it to the bedpost after she was dead."

"We don't have much forensics, but if you stick around, I'm sure we'll find something…" Warner said, hoping this word of encouragement would brighten the pair's spirits, but a heavy sigh from both detectives proved her endeavor was not a success.

11:26 am

"How are 'New York's finest' this fine morning?" Detective John Munch asked as Elliot and Olivia entered the precinct. He offered each a cup of coffee, and earnestly waited for a reply.

"Crappy," Elliot said, sitting with a discontented groan.

"Glad to hear that…" Munch retorted and stalked off to his desk.

Detective Fin walked up to Elliot's desk, "So, did you find anything at the crime scene?"

Elliot leaned forward in his chair, rubbing his tired eyes, "Not a thing…There were no figure prints in the apartment, no foreign fibers, no hair, no footprints, no debris, and no seamen in Rachel Andrews. Not a single piece of evidence…"

"Nothing?" Fin looked apologetically over to Olivia, hoping Elliot's account was exaggerated.

"Nothing," She answered, confirming his fear.

Elliot walked over to the large computer screen, and pulled up the crime scene photos. Munch returned to the group and looked over the case file along with the others.

"You know what this seems like?" He said, offering his view of things, "It seems to me that Peter is your guy."

Olivia objected, "But Peter was stabbed in the back, there is no way he could have killed himself like that…"

"I didn't say he killed himself. So here's how it plays out: They go out on a date, afterwards they go to her place, he makes a move, she doesn't want to, he rapes her in a fit of rage, and then BOOM! She's got a knife hidden under the pillow. He stumbles off, and the rope wraps tighter around her neck as she tries to escape and it kills her."

Olivia still wasn't buying it, "Munch, this is an engaged couple we are talking about here, not some spring-fling-date-rape. These people were going to spend the rest of their lives together. I have talked to the families; both of the families say Rachel and Peter were the perfect couple. They were going to get married, buy a house, have five kids, and grow old together. I just don't see Peter flying into a so called 'fit of rage.' It doesn't seem right..."

"Well, maybe Munch has a point," Elliot interjected. He walked and stood beside Olivia, gazing at the pictures as he spoke, "I mean, there aren't any signs of a break in, and there isn't a scrape of evidence to prove they were with someone."

"But why would Peter do that?" She asked.

"Well, sometimes when two people decide to get married, tempers flare and arguments arise. Heck, even _after_ the wedding, and the five kids," He let out a muffled chuckle, and turned to face Olivia. She was looking at him intently.

"You speaking from experience?" She asked, holding his gaze.

Elliot had to force himself to break away from her stare. He was not going to allow her to start this conversation now. He needed more time to figure out how he was going to let her know…The last time this happened, he had left guilty about not telling her. But why? She didn't need to know anything about what was going on in his personal life… But then again she was his partner…she had every right to know what was going on…what was going wrong…

He shrugged his shoulders and looked at anything in the room besides her. Munch and Fin were going on and on about Munch's theory, but were interrupted when Cragen walked up to them. He wore a sullen expression and his eyes were down-cast.

"Is something wrong, Cap'?" Fin asked.

Cragen nodded, "We've got another murder; same MO as the other."

Elliot and Olivia looked at each other in defeat. Their killer had struck again.

"Where?" Olivia asked, looking back to her captain.

"Here are the particulars, but I want Fin and Munch to handle this one," he said, handing the note card off to a baffled Munch.

Elliot objected, "But Captain we-"

"No arguing, Stabler. Now you two, go," He waved Munch and Fin away, but remained to speak with Elliot and Olivia, "Elliot I'm suggesting that you take the afternoon off. Go home to the kids, take a nap. I don't want to see your face till tomorrow morning, is that understood? Same goes for you Benson."

"Captain, I'm not going anywhere until we get a lead on this case," Olivia declared.

"Besides, we've only just begun to look in on our own victims. You can't possibly expect us to give up at the start of the game," Elliot added.

Cragen looked at both detectives. He knew they wouldn't leave, but he wanted to be sure they were rested. This case may prove to be tougher than they thought, and he needed them to be prepared.

"Alright, you can stay. But I want you to crash in the crib for a couple hours before Fin and Munch get back. You got that?" He hollered as he walked back to his office.

"Got it!" They both yelled back, and sat at their desks. There was no way in hell they were sleeping out on this.


	2. Chapter 2

Second Chapter! SQWEEEEE! Please R&R!

Again: I DO NOT OWN!

_**SECOND CHAPTER**_

**12:08 pm**

"Hey, El, look at this…" Olivia said, pointing to her computer screen. Elliot didn't respond, so she glanced over at his desk. He was sound asleep with his head resting on his desk. Olivia hated that she had to wake him, but also knew he'd hate her more if she didn't. She stood slightly and nudged him on the shoulder, "El! Wake up!" She said louder than she had meant to.

Elliot jumped from his sleep, knocking over his half-drunken coffee mug, "What…?" He asked as he unconsciously rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

Olivia looked worried, "You sure you don't need to go home? You look like you haven't slept in days, El...Is there something you want to talk about?"

"I'm fine!" He said, shooting her a death glare that only an idiot would misinterpret. He did not want to have that conversation right then.

Olivia knew she had asked the wrong question at the wrong time, "I'm sorry, it's just…never mind…" she said, shaking her head.

Elliot stood and walked over to her desk, leaning over Olivia's shoulder to view her computer screen, "What did you need to show me?"

The sudden proximity startled Olivia at first, but she regained composure before even she noticed her reaction, "Well according to Peter's credit card, he and another person went to Tony's Bar on 100 and 6th about eight times in the past three weeks. And they went the night they were murdered."

"And this is relevant because?" Elliot scoffed.

"Well," Olivia continued, "Maybe the killer was with them at the bar. Someone might have seen him with Peter and Rachel."

Elliot let out disinterested sigh, "Well, let's go check it out…" He went to grab his coat and was about to leave when he noticed Olivia hadn't followed, "You coming?" He asked.

Olivia was staring at him, trying to figure out his current mood, and hadn't realized he was leaving, "Oh!" She jumped from her seat, "Yeah, just a second…"

Once she took another swig of coffee and grabbed her coat and scarf, they were off.

**12:30 pm**

"Excuse me," Elliot asked a blonde waitress as he and Olivia entered the bar. It was one of those restaurant-by-day-bar-by-night places, so there were a few people there.

"One second, hon. I'll have a table set up for you in no time. Gess…this place is slow this time a 'day. Surprised I'm getting you two lovebirds!" She mumbled indirectly at the two detectives.

"We aren't here on a date," Olivia explained as she held up a photo of Rachel and Peter, "This couple was here last night. Is there anyone here who was working then?"

The waitress nodded and continued chewing her gum, "Yep…That'd be Casey. She works nights…"

"Well, if she's here, we'd like to speak with her…" Elliot said.

The waitress stood there and didn't make any move to go get this "Casey." She just chewed her gum and smiled blankly.

"…now, please?" Elliot pressured.

"Sure, Hon…One second…" The waitress disappeared around the bar and into the back kitchen. After a few moments, the skinny blonde returned, followed by an even skinnier brunette.

"Here's Casey. I's gots to go…see ya later," She left the group and blew a kiss to Elliot, who grimaced.

"You needed to see me?" Casey asked.

"Yes, we need to know if you've seen this couple. They were here last night, and we need to know if they were with anyone before they left. Maybe a friend or a stranger they just met?" Olivia handed her the photos, and waited patiently as she examined them.

"Oh yeah! I know them…Yeah Cinderella and Prince Charming! They were practically making out at the bar. Made me sick…but they tipped pretty well, so…"She shrugged and handed back the photos.

"Yes, but were they with anyone?" Elliot asked, becoming only slightly annoyed with the expedition thus far.

"Not that I noticed…Well there was this one guy…he made a move on the girl when her boyfriend wasn't looking. Oh, he made a scene...the boyfriend, I mean…Wow, he was smokin' hot…" She chuckled as she remembered the moment, "Anyway, when everything was settled, they all sat at the bar and talked for hours, as if nothing had happened."

Olivia got out her notepad, "Could you give a description of this 'guy?'"

"Sure. Blond, mid-height, sort of chubby, but not _fat _fat…um brown eyes, maybe…I don't know…"

"No, that's fine…where did they sit?" Elliot asked, pointing around the room.

"Over there…" Casey pointed over to the corner edge of the bar, "Those two sat here, but the other guy came later. He was at a booth most of the night. Kind of creepy, you know? Like he was watching everyone, but not saying hardly anything…" She was interrupted by a shrill chorus of 'Pocket Full of Sunshine,' and pulled out her cell, "Hello? What? Detective Too-too-who? You are the third cop who's talked to me today, man! I ain't talking to any more coppers- Hey!"

Elliot snatched her phone and held it to his ear.

"Yo, Miss, I need to talk to you about a-"

"Yo, Mister, you're talking to our witness!" Elliot asked, bewildering Fin, who was on the other line,"Yeah. Little Ms. Blondie over here works at a bar our victims went to the night they were murdered…How do you have her number?" Elliot interrupted.

**Meanwhile…**

"Aw, man…Are you serious?" Fin asked into his phone.

"What is it?" Munch asked his partner. They were just about finished with their crime scene: an apartment of a married couple who were murdered two days before Rachel and Peter, but were only found that morning. CSU found a receipt with a phone number written on it in the husband's wallet, and the detective's decided to find out who it was.

Fin turned to Munch with a look of confusion and denial, "Apparently our victims went to the same bar as Liv and El's." Back into the phone: "Look, man, your witness's number was written on a receipt in our dead guy's wallet…Yeah, I know! El, listen, we'll meet you at the precinct in an hour, Ok? We've got to finish up here…"

**Meanwhile…**

"Ok? Ok, see ya!" Elliot hung up the phone and handed it to Casey, "Well, that's all we needed to know, thank you!"

Elliot was out the door before Olivia had a chance to utter her own "thank you." She quickly ran out to catch up with him.

"What was that all about?" She asked once they were at the car.

"Fin and Munch are going to meet us at the precinct. I need you to call Captain and ask him to get Huang. I think we'll need him on this one…"

**1:35 pm.**

Back at the precinct, Elliot, Olivia, Fin, Munch, and Cragen were anxiously waiting for Huang to begin. With the new information, Huang was able to piece together a profile for their killer, and he had found several other murders with similar MOs.

"This is a man whose self esteem is very low, but he may seem to be a perfectly amiable guy. He lacks a romantic relationship and feels incomplete without one. He probably had mommy-issues at one point in his life, or maybe he was brought up to believe romantic attachments were vital to his very existence. These couples represent everything he wishes he had: a loving, carefree, perfect marriage. Although Rachel and Peter weren't married yet, their relationship was probably the easiest one for him to target. They were planning their perfect life, and hearing them discuss every detail of their love for each other probably drove him over the edge."

"So this guy hates these people because they aren't afraid to let their romantic feelings show in public…" Elliot clarified, more for himself, but the rest of the group understood what he was going for.

"Precisely…" Huang said, nodding his approval of Elliot's explanation, "He tends to hang out at bars, because that is where his victims go. He sits alone, until a particular couple catches his eyes. He watches them and the anger in him boils up until it nearly explodes. He can't handle it. When the wife is left alone, he takes his chance. Of course, she flips out and the husband comes to her rescue. Our perp apologizes and continues to talk to the couple. They find they have a lot in common and forget anything happened. When they have finally run out of things to talk about, or the couple decides it's late, they part ways. The perp probably follows them home and knocks on their door once they are inside. Probably makes some comment about how 'coincidental is it that they live in the same building or neighborhood.'"

"And they feel comfortable enough to invite him inside," Olivia adds.

"Exactly, and when they let him in, he nails 'hem," Huang continues.

"So…How exactly do we catch the guy?" Munch asked, not quite sure how this briefing was going to help their case.

Huang turned to Elliot and Olivia. He had a slight grin on his face, "How would you two like going undercover tonight?"

Elliot and Olivia's eyes widened. Neither of them had expected the possibility of an undercover operation.

"We'll need to create a cover, and soon. Our killer doesn't take much time to find his prey, so we'll have to prepare before tonight," Huang said, beginning the process of organizing the mission, "You'll have to become the perfect couple, so you can stake out the place and see if anyone fits the profile."

"So, you want us to go as husband and wife?" Elliot asked.

Huang nodded, "You'll have to be overly dramatic and romantic. Talk about how you met, or how much you love each other, because that's what really pisses him off. You'll be the perfect bait."

Elliot was listening to what Huang said, but he was concentrated on his partner. They had gone undercover as husband and wife before, but Elliot wasn't sure how Olivia would react if she knew…if he told her…Hell, he didn't even know how he was going to tell her…

Olivia was excited for the undercover job. She wanted to catch his creep and she'd do anything to put him away. Not that going undercover with Elliot was drastic, or anything…Olivia actually liked going undercover with him. It was refreshingly humorous to see the perp's face when he realized they were cops.

She glanced over at her "husband," and saw him staring. They locked eyes for a moment, and Olivia could see something was wrong. Elliot's eyes were filled with regret and sadness; he was guilty about something, but what? She wasn't going to ask, but she had a sinking feeling that it was the same something that had made him moody that entire day.

Elliot wanted to talk…But he knew she'd be disappointed in him, in his role as a partner, and as a friend…Olivia's respect for him would disappear in an instant. Cathy had given up, so what not Olivia, too? It had happened before…

"Are you two paying attention?" Cragen snapped.

The two detectives murmured words of apology and tried to turn their focus back to the job at hand: Creating a cover.

"So, names anyone? Do you guys want to stay 'Olivia and Elliot'? Or should we create aliases? " Cragen asked.

"Aliases, for sure…" Olivia said. She wanted to be completely detached from whatever Elliot said or did during the night, and if he said her real name…she'd be completely off guard.

"Ok, name suggestions, anyone?"

Elliot shrugged, "What about Michel and Rebecca?" He offered.

"Fine with me, you?" Cragen said, looking over at Olivia.

"Sounds good…" She said, not really caring what name they gave her.

Huang stepped in to fill in their story, "So, you've been married for twenty years. Your marriage is perfect. No arguments, no infidelity, no nothing… You guys can decide on a back story, but it's got to be stereotypical, cheesy, and one of those over-the-top, impossible romances…It's gotta be, if we want to draw his attention. Remember, your connection and chemistry are key in this, as well. You've got to be completely in-sync and entirely focused on each other."

Elliot simply nodded at each one of "Huang's helpful hints." He knew how he and Olivia would need to act, but right then he didn't need to be reminded of his _real_ marriage. His completely ruined, destroyed, f***ed up marriage…It was one thing to pretend to have Olivia as his wife, but it was another to have no restrictions, no conscious, no lingering feeling that he was being unfaithful to his real wife. How would he be able to check himself? How could he remind himself to remain faithful when he had no one to remain faithful to?

"El…Elliot!"

Elliot snapped from his distracted daze, and looked up. Olivia was standing in front of him, concern and worry written on her face.

"Cragen said we could go home, and get ready, or go rest…" Olivia could tell Elliot was preoccupied, "El, are you OK? You've been kind of… weird lately…Is something going on that I should know about?"

"I'm fine…" He said, walking to his desk to grab his coat, "I'm outta here." And with that, he walked out into the bustling streets of New York City.

Olivia stood alone in the precinct. She didn't follow him, or try to force him to speak up. She had tried and that was all she could do…for now.

BTW the so called "Tony's Bar" is not real. DUH... And the address in bogus! ANYWAY R&R if you want to read more...


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 ya'll!

Yes this is where they go undercover! Hehehe… _Please_ R&R!

Anyway…ENJOY, and I OWN NOTHING!

CHAPTER 3!

8:17

Olivia stood in her bedroom, regarding herself in the mirror. Her hair was curled, she had just finished applying a coat of lipstick, and she wore one of her favorite cocktail dresses. She looked stunning.

_No, _she corrected herself, _Rebecca looks stunning…_

She sighed. She and Elliot had planned to meet each other at the bar, but then decided it was best for Elliot and her to ride together. So now all Olivia could do was to wait for him to show up…

Olivia took another glance at herself in the mirror. She _did_ look alright. Olivia readjusted the necklace she wore, and fiddled with a strand of curl.

_There, that's better…_

Olivia was nervous. She hadn't been on anything even remotely resembling a date since…well, she couldn't remember.

_Married to the job, _she thought, sadly reminding herself that her job was her one and only commitment in life.

*knock**knock*

Olivia darted into the front room and opened the door to a beaming Elliot.

"Good evening," He said, handing her a bouquet of daisies.

"Um," Olivia starred dumbfounded at the offering, and she didn't even notice Elliot's faint kiss on her check, "Thank you? Yeah, um…Come in," She stood aside so he could walk in.

Elliot looked around. He had been there several times before, whenever Olivia was sick, or in a bad spot. He remembered the countless times he had forced Olivia to let him check in on her when she was being stalked or targeted. But now it was normal, like he shouldn't be there, but at the same time like he should be there.

"You look nice," He said, noticing Olivia's attire.

Olivia was amazed, _He's being normal!_

Well, of course the bouquet thing was odd, but at least he wasn't completely rejecting her, or making the entire room seem dark and gloomy.

Olivia smiled, "Thanks. You look nice too…um…"

"I hardly ever see you like this," Elliot smiled, "You should dress up more often."

"Well heels and a dress aren't exactly appropriate for nailing perps," She said reaching for a vase on top of the refrigerator.

"Here, let me," He said, stepping in front of her.

"Well," She cocked her head to the side, "This is new…Isn't this what they call 'being polite to your partner?' "

"Haha…" Elliot let out a cynical sneer.

Olivia watched in awe as Elliot took the daisies and proceeded to arrange them in the vase, pouring in water from the faucet. He placed the newly hydrated flowers on the counter and turned back to face Olivia, a smug grin spreading across his face. He looked as though he had accomplished something.

Olivia raised an eyebrow, "Do you want an award or something?"

Elliot chuckled and shrugged his shoulders, "Maybe."

"Yeah, well, keep dreamin, punk." Olivia said nudging him out of the way so she could get a glass out of the cabinet.

"Hey, there's no need to be calling names, all right?" He chuckled, pinching her side as she passed beside him.

"Quit it, El! You want a drink? Water, or…?"

"Naw, I'm good. Besides, we should be heading out," He went and grabbed Olivia's coat from where she had thrown it on the couch, "Here," He held it up to help her into it.

Olivia laughed, "Please, please tell me what Cathy did to make you so gentlemanlike! I'll have to use it on my future husband! Ha!" She continued to laugh, but stopped as soon as she saw Elliot's deep frown, "El, what's wrong?"

Elliot shook his head, and forced a smile, "Nothing…Let's go."

They walked out to the car in awkward silence. Once they got to the car, Elliot opened the passenger door for Olivia, and helped her in, before running to get in on his side. It was very quiet as they drove through the bright, city streets of New York City. They turned down different roads, and passed many different clubs and bars before they reached Tony's Bar. They parked a little ways away, and Elliot got out first to run and open Olivia's door.

"Is this the special treatment Cathy gets when you two go out?" Olivia asked, chuckling and taking his arm when he offered it. She immediately knew she had said the wrong thing, again. Elliot's breathing quickened and his eyes had found something interesting on the sidewalk in front of his feet.

"We don't go out much anymore…"

Olivia gave Elliot a questioning look, but he didn't respond because they had reached the entrance to the club. No matter how terrible he felt, he had to keep a cover. No matter how crappy his real life was, he wasn't about to put Olivia in danger by allowing his inner pains to disrupt the perfect-couple façade.

They spotted a Thug version of Fin patrolling the street, and nodded in recognition. As a last minute thought, Elliot reached down, grabbed Olivia's hand, and they walked inside,mano a mano.

The club was crowded. _Very_ crowded. It took Olivia and Elliot several minutes to spot Munch, who was busy discussing his newest conspiracy theory with a more than unenthused waitress. He nodded to them, and continued his conversation.

"Let's find a seat, shall we?" Olivia whispered to Elliot, leading him to two strategically opportune seats at the bar.

"Do you want something?" Elliot asked, flagging down a waiter.

"Sure," She flashed him a smile and squeezed his hand.

Under the colored lights of the bar, Elliot could finally _see_ Olivia. Her hair fell perfectly on her shoulders, and her eyes were bright and cheerful. He'd never seen her as beautiful and happy as she was now.

He leaned forward, and said, "You look beautiful tonight."

Olivia smiled even brighter, "Aw, thank you, Michel!"

Elliot leaned closer, and whispered in her ear, "I'm serious, Liv. You look lovely."

His breath on her cheek made Olivia's heart flutter, but she tried to disregard it.

"Thanks, El," She whispered back.

Elliot wrapped his arm around her waist, and completely buried his face in her hair, pressing kisses on her neck.

"Michel!" She gasped, but chuckled as she tried to pull away. Elliot only pulled her closer, "Michel, seriously, let me go! The waiter's here…"

"You two gonna order something, or not?" The bartender asked, obviously annoyed with the couple.

Elliot answered, "Sorry, I just can't help myself!" He leaned over to the bartender and said, loud enough for anyone nearby to hear, "She's my wife, you know?"

The bartender gazed back impassively, "So do you want a drink?" He asked.

"Yes, A beer for my husband, and I'll take…um, whatever you've got. I'll take anything!" Olivia said, desperately trying to distract herself from Elliot's hand on her knee.

"Give her the strongest thing you have! I want her to get tipsy!" Elliot said, nuzzling against Olivia's cheek.

"No, wait!" Olivia tried to get the waiter's attention so she could change the order, but he had already disappeared, "Great, that's brilliant, Michel! He's gone."

"You'll live," He said chuckling, and looking into her eyes, "Ah, twenty years…can you believe it?"

"I know," Olivia said, beaming from inside out.

Elliot reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind Olivia's ear. She blushed and looked down at her lap. Elliot's hand was still on her knee and it had made its way further up her thigh. She kept looking at it, concentrating on _the hand_ rather than the sensation of _the touch_, when a death-cold shiver ran up her spine. He wasn't wearing his wedding ring…

She gasped, "Oh God…"

"What is it, Becca?" Elliot asked, earnestly worried about her, "What's wrong, baby?"

_Oh, god…Oh, God…_ She kept thinking, "I um…I…" Without thinking she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close. _Oh, God…That's why he has been acting so miserable at work…Oh, if I had only known…_

"Liv, what's wrong? Do you see someone?" Elliot whispered into her hair, kissing her neck as he had done before. They still had to keep up their "romantic couple" cover, no matter what happened, "Liv, answer me!"

Olivia pulled away, and held his hand, "Um…Michel, do you want to…um…meet me in the car?" she asked, winking. _That's not awkward, _she thought.

Elliot grinned and nodded, following her lead as they walked outside. When they were beyond the general sight of the club, Elliot grabbed Olivia's arm and pulled her into an alley.

"What was that about? Why'd we leave? What's wrong, Olivia?" He asked, completely unaware of what was going through her head.

Olivia sighed, and leaned against the brick wall of the dark alley. She was lightheaded from the sudden rush of fresh air, and she needed to regain her balance.

"Liv?" Elliot asked again.

"I um…You're not…It's nothing, really," As she stumbled over her words, she tried to move past Elliot and back onto the main street. She could scarcely believe she had acted so unprofessional, and wanted to get back inside before it was too late.

"No, Liv, what is it? Tell me? Something is wrong, _very wrong._ I've never seen you blow a cover like that. What happened?" He held a gentle grip on her arm, and his voice was so sincere. Olivia brought her eyes up to meet his distraught ones.

I just…" She stuttered over the truth, exhaled, and finally said, "You're not wearing your wedding ring…"

Elliot's eyes grew wide, and immediately flew to his left hand. It was bare, just as he remembered leaving it. He closed his eyes in defeat.

_She had noticed…Why had she noticed?_

He ran a hand across his hair, and rubbed the back of his neck. He glanced up at Olivia, but quickly averted her gaze. He couldn't look her in the eye, not now…

"Liv, I was going to tell you…" He started, but the sound of footsteps startled them, and he quickly stopped.

Both of them froze and listened. Even though they were far enough down the alley to have lost sight of the street, they could tell the footsteps were coming towards them.

A sickening feeling entered Elliot's chest, and when he glanced at Olivia, he knew the same thought had caused the same feeling in her. Olivia and Elliot both looked at each other, petrified. If they were caught by their perp right then, when they were out of character…it could ruin everything. They needed an escape route, and fast. They looked to the far end of the alley, but dumpsters and garbage cans were completely blocking that exit, and the unidentified owner of the footsteps was coming from the street. They were trapped.

Without warning, Elliot placed both hands on the brick around Olivia's head, pinning her to the wall.

"Elliot?" She stared up at him, confused and astonished. He was centimeters away from her, and she could hardly breathe.

Suddenly, before she had time to react, Elliot was kissing her. A strong steady kiss. Olivia was stunned beyond words, beyond thought, beyond comprehension. She couldn't quite get a grasp of what was happening.

_What? Is this Elliot? _She thought.

She stood frozen still; her mind seemed empty and full at the same time. Her heart raced, but was cold to anything beyond utter disbelief. As though her mind and body were suddenly torn apart, Olivia reached up and wrapped her arms around Elliot's neck, pulling him closer to her.

_I don't want this…Holy S**t I shouldn't want this! He's…El…Cathy's El, _Her mind screamed through the hazy cloud of her separated thoughts, _Why is this happening? Why would El? Oh…_As if a light switch turned on, she finally realized what the kiss was all about, _He's still Michel…_The tingling feeling of understanding spread through her, but there was a slight sense of remorse also.

She had almost believed Elliot was sincerely kissing her. But now they were merely keeping their cover. That was the only reason for…this. As though by instinct, Olivia went into complete "Becca-mode." She clung tighter to her "husband" and deepened the kiss.

_I'm Rebecca…This is normal for me…making out with Elliot, er… my husband in a dark, secluded alley… _She thought, the irony of it killing her.

The footsteps Olivia and Elliot had heard stopped, but neither of them made a move to break apart.

Suddenly they heard a soft chuckle behind them, "Well, I'll try and keep this under wraps, but the Captain is gonna catch on sooner or later, guys…" It was Fin.

Elliot quickly stepped away from Olivia, looking only half as embarrassed as she, "We thought you were our perp…and we just…um…you know, wanted to keep out cover…you know?" Elliot tried desperately to explain, but Fin simply nodded.

"_Right…_Well, you guys need to get back in there, because Munch has been signaling me like crazy," Fin said.

Elliot and Olivia both began to walk back, but Fin stopped them, "Wait…um…El, come here," Fin walked and began to unbutton Elliot's shirt, and buttoning it back together, making sure the first several buttons were out of place, "Now, Olivia…" He went and started messing up her hair, so it looked like she just got out of bed, "There, you're good to go now."

"Yah, that's enough, Fin…" Elliot said, patting him harshly on the back, "Thanks for the help."

Olivia and Elliot began to make their way back inside the club, making sure they acted however one would after a random make-out session in an alley.

They returned to their places at the bar, and were surprised to see their waiter holding a cocktail and a beer in his hand.

"I thought you had ditched me! Here is your beer, sir," He handed Elliot the drink, and then turned to Olivia, "And now, here is strongest, most pungent drink I am legally allowed to sell! Enjoy," He said handing Olivia a glass of something that looked far from 'legal.'

"Thanks, I'll need it," She said, nodding her head in affirmation of her perplexed state of mind.

Elliot raised his glass, as the bartender left, "A toast," He said, slyly grinning, "To my beautiful wife, Rebecca! Isn't she just stunning, guys? Come on, right?" He yelled, turning to the other men at the bar, who all looked Olivia over and nodded in agreement.

"Michel! Stop, please, honey…" She said, laughing and blushing as red as a cherry.

Elliot smiled, looked her in the eyes and sighed, "I love you."

Olivia's eyes grew wide. Her heart fluttered for an instant, but the butterflies quickly died as she noticed Munch from the corner of her eye. He was approaching them, which wasn't in the plan, so she knew something was up.

"Well, look who's here!" Munch said, patting Elliot on the shoulder, "Michel! How are you doing? Man, it's been…how long since I've seen you?"

Elliot gave Munch a warm hand shake, "Longer than either of us care to admit. Wow, how have you been?"

Munch gave Olivia a smile, "I hope you don't mind if I steal Mike for a minute or two. Got to catch up on old times…"

Olivia smiled as Elliot and Munch turned away and talked about phony "old times." She was all alone now…Her heart dropped as the glowing atmosphere faded. She thought about the expression on Elliot's face when he told her he loved her. She couldn't shake the feeling that he was for real.

_Wait, no…that was Michel who was talking then…Stop kidding yourself, Liv! _Her conscience said.

As they discussed senior pranks and bogus college stories, Munch was able to interject the reason he intruded on their act.

"You see that guy by the karaoke stage?" Munch whispered.

Elliot glanced casually over his shoulder, and spotted the man in question, "Yea, what about him?"

"He's had his eye on you two since you walked in. When you left earlier, he got all fidgety, and if he knew what Michel and Rebecca were doing…if you get my drift," Munch said, pointing out Elliot's ruffled appearance.

"Yeah, I get it," Elliot said, rolling his eyes, and sipping on his beer, "But is he our perp?"

Munch froze, and starred at something over Elliot's shoulder, "Um, well, we'll know soon enough once he starts chatting up Liv…" He whispered as softly as he could.

Olivia had noticed the man take the seat beside her. She tried to concentrate on Elliot, whose back was to her. He and Munch hadn't left her for more than five minutes, but already she felt sick to her stomach. And, although she would never admit it, the thought that some creep was about to make a move on her was more than a little upsetting.

Suddenly she felt a hand run up her back, and rest on her shoulder.

"Hey sweet thing…Let me get you a drink," She heard a whisper in her ear, and another hand slid around her waist.

"Whoa, back off!" Olivia shouted, as she pushed the unknown man away from her.

Elliot quickly jumped from his seat and charged at the man, shoving him against the bar.

"You get away from her!" Elliot said, trying hard not to rip the perp's head clean off.

"Hey! I'm sorry, sir, I am terribly sorry! I didn't know she was spoken for, man!" The man wriggled under Elliot's firm grasp.

"She's my_ wife, _you prick…" Elliot said, tightening his hold on the man's collar.

"Whoa, really? I'm sorry…Gess, I didn't know, honest, man…Please, could you tell him to let me go, hun?" The man looked helplessly over at Olivia.

Elliot grew even more tense, and the fury in his eyes raged.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry…I didn't mean to call her 'hun.' Um…Please, just don't hurt me OK? Please?" The man looked desperately over at Olivia, and then back to the wild Elliot.

"Michel…Please, just let him go, I'm fine…" Olivia said, placing a reassuring hand on Elliot's rigid shoulder.

Elliot finally loosened his hold on the creep who dared touch his partner. He would have killed that son of a bitch, but they needed him alive, so killing him wasn't an option… yet.

"You keep your hands off her…" Elliot spat in the man's face, the fury never relinquishing.

"I won't do that again, I swear…shake on it?" The man offered his hand, and Elliot reluctantly accepted it, "I'm Andrew, and you two are?" He quickly began the conversation, and his enthusiasm to meet the couple he had just insulted was shocking.

"Um, I'm Michel, and _my wife_, "He stressed the words 'my wife,' and continued, "is Rebecca."

So comments? PLEASE R&R! Also: suggestions are welcome!


	4. Chapter 4

This took waaaayyyyy longer to write then I had hoped, but I had to be sure everything flowed with the final chapters before I posted this. Between school, rehearsal and other things I just couldn't find the time. UNTILL NOW!

THIS IS THE FOURTH CHAPTER YA'LL! Hehehehehe…

*note* my technical brain was going hay-wire on me while writing this chapter. I know the actual procedure behind under cover missions is completely prepared and spot on, but for some reason my creative brain thought a rushed impromptu sort of undercover thing worked better with the story…maybe not…but I just can't wait any longer trying to rack my brain for another scenario, so, DEAL WITH IT. ;)

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><p>4th Chapter!<p>

**12:47 am**

It was well past midnight and Olivia was exhausted. She and Elliot had been talking with Andrew for far longer than they wished. The second the subject dried up, Andrew would start on another subject, and he never let a "yes" or "no" answer pass. Both detectives had to maintain their cover story and work together to answer Andrew's every question.

He had asked about their careers, their college days, how they met, where they got married, etc. He seemed very, _very _interested in their personal lives. On a normal day, Olivia would have brushed him off and discontinued the conversation. But now it was different. She wasn't a kick-ass cop. She was an average, uninformed citizen whose "Creeper-Radar" was out of order.

"Wow, you're lives seem so…perfect," Andrew said with a contented sigh. He leaned back and looked at them. They were holding hands, and snuggling against each other. He had to be buying it; his eyes were squinted, and he wore a slight, mischievous grin.

"Well, you aren't the only one to say that! My sister was completely jealous when I told her I was engaged those thirteen years ago! She was happy for me, of course, but she still couldn't comprehend how perfect, and simple, and romantic our love was, well, _is_," Olivia said, laughing at her imaginary sister's simplemindedness.

"My guy friends go on and on about how they wished they had gotten to Becca first! But I'm so glad they didn't…" Elliot put an arm around Olivia's shoulders and squeezed her close to his side.

"Me, too," She smiled up at him, her eyes shining.

There was a quiet hiatus, as Andrew observed the sweet moment, his mind churning with secret hate. Elliot could see Andrew fidget and clench his fists. He was obviously affected by their display of affection, and his opinion of them seemed set in stone. It was likely he had decided their fate. They were the perfect couple…

Having picked up on Andrew's actions, Elliot figured now was the time to act.

"Ah, well…" He said, standing and shaking hands with Andrew, "It was a very nice meeting you, Andy, despite the circumstances, but I thank you for being so courteous to my wife after our little spat," He chuckled, and gave Andrew a pat on the back.

"No problem. I just was glad we got to know each other," He said, smiling and getting up from his seat.

"Well, I hope we run into you again soon," Olivia said as she and Elliot walked away.

"Oh, you will," Andrew said under his breath. It was barely audible, but it sent shivers up Olivia's back, and she wanted to hurl. She knew what was going through his mind, and it was horrid. She knew he was imagining…She didn't even want to think about it…

When they made it out to the car, they saw Fin waiting.

"You shouldn't be here, he's probably following us," Elliot whispered, looking away from Fin, so it didn't look like he was speaking to him. For all they knew Andrew had crept through a back way and was watching them.

"No worries, Munch said the guy went to his car, wait a sec…" He turned away and listened to his ear piece, "Ok, we got a problem; Munch says Andrew just turned this way. So here's what I came to tell you: Since the creep's gonna follow you two home, it is best if you guys don't go to either of your houses. I'm sure you don't want this guy knowing where you live, so the Captain had a place cleared for you to use for now. I've got the address already forwarded to your phones. Oh, and your perp's real name is Carl Lyles. He's got a small rap sheet, a couple of domestics on an ex-girlfriend, but… Ah, and here comes your twisted Prince Charming now, see ya!" Fin darted down the street.

As though on cue, Olivia and Elliot saw a car drive past them really slowly. They could see it was Lyles, and they both waved. He waved back and then continued driving. They saw him turn into a road they knew was a dead-end. He would probably wait there till they passed and come out when he knew it was safe to follow them.

Elliot opened the passenger door for Olivia, as he had before, and ran to get in on his side. They pulled out and Olivia typed the address of the apartment into the GPS. It wasn't very far away, but it gave them plenty of time to reassess the plan. Neither of them thought that Lyles would wait to strike, and were quite sure he would do whatever he could tonight.

"So we'll have to wait for him. We're both armed, but I'm not sure what we're facing. I know Huang had this idea that Lyles just waltzes in and attacks them when they least expect it, but…" Elliot ran a hand across his head, and rubbed his eyes. He was tired, but the anticipation was too much. He needed to know what he and Olivia were up against. He would never have admitted it to her face, because she'd probably kill him, but he felt responsible for her; for her safety. If Olivia was hurt, he'd never forgive himself.

"We'll be fine. Fin texted me and said backup would be right next door. We'll be fine, El. Calm down, K? You're freaking me out," Olivia said, taking a deep breath, and glancing in the rearview mirror, "There's Lyles. He doesn't make a big deal about staying far behind. I can practically see his face! That scheming, rotten, perverted son of a-"

"Liv!" Elliot reached and took her hand, stopping her short meltdown, "It's gonna be OK."

She turned to him, "I know."

Elliot raised an eyebrow and Olivia grinned.

Elliot chuckled nervously, and turned his eyes back onto the road. It was a while before they noticed that they were still holding hands.

"Sorry," Elliot said, letting go and placing both hands on the wheel.

Olivia hadn't meant to stare, but Elliot caught her glancing at his left hand. He didn't want to explain everything to her right then, but his guilty conscience feared she'd never trust him again if he didn't.

"Liv, about the ring, I-"

Olivia shook her head, "No, El, if you don't want to tell me, you don't have to-"

"Please," He turned to look at her, his eyes piercing through hers, "It's something I've got to do."

Olivia sighed, and nodded, "Ok, shoot."

As they waited for a red light to pass, Elliot closed his eyes and gathered his thoughts, "Cathy left me…"

"What? El, when did-"

"…last week. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, Liv, it's just… This is the second time this has happened, and I didn't want what happened before to happen again, and I…I don't know," He shrugged and put all his concentration on the road. He could feel Olivia's eyes blaze into the side of his head. She was trying to read him, but he wasn't going to let her.

"What happened before? What do you mean? Elliot, what are you talking about?" Olivia asked. She was sorry that he had gone through something this terrible and she hadn't been there to comfort him. But above all else she was confused, surprised, even hurt that he hadn't come to her sooner.

Elliot shrugged again, but didn't answer. He was holding back, and Olivia knew he'd never open up if she pressured him. So, she waited calmly and quietly.

"Nothing, that's not what I meant, it's just…When Cathy told me, about wanting to leave, she…um…" Elliot said, finally beginning to speak up.

"Yes?" Olivia turned to face him, hoping he wouldn't stop.

Elliot rubbed his eyes again, praying that this was just a dream. All he could think about was the creep in the car behind him, the sound of Cathy's voice when she said she'd had enough, and the feeling of Olivia's kiss. He shook his head, trying to send those thoughts away.

"Elliot!" Olivia had grabbed the steering wheel to stop the car from swerving into the opposite lane, "El, what is going on? Talk to me! Please…" Olivia begged. She was worried, scared even. She had never seen Elliot so upset, so troubled.

"Please don't act like you'd understand," Elliot yelled, "You have no family, remember, Liv? No has left you! You'll never understand what it feels like to have the world collapse in on you, and you can't do anything to stop it. Cathy hated my job…She always thought I wanted to stay at work and see what I see everyday…She thought every job, every case, every victim was the same… But nothing is ever the _same _with SVU! One minute I'm fighting criminals and I'm on top of the world! My family adores me and can't wait to give me a kiss on the check or a pat on the back. And the next minute, I'm pulling all nighters and I'm lucky to be alive. Cathy doesn't understand any of what I go through here…and I don't want her to…" He took a deep breath, and clenched his teeth, "My life is a living hell...If my own wife can't understand that, how on earth can you?"

Olivia wanted to cry. In all her years at SVU, never once had Elliot spoken to her in that way. Elliot was more than just a partner to her. He was a friend, a confidante, and the closest thing to family she had ever known. After all the things they'd been through, Elliot had become her dearest friend, and she had hoped he thought of her in the same way.

"El, I didn't mean it like that…I just…"

Olivia wiped away the tear that had fallen, but not before Elliot saw it. His heart dropped in his stomach.

"God, Olivia…I'm sorry," Elliot pushed the hair out of her face, and gently rubbed the back of her neck, "I'm sorry I yelled at you, it's just…when Cathy…Before she said she was leaving, she was going on and on about how she couldn't take it. Me, my job, you…" He trailed off.

"Me?" Olivia was surprised her named came up.

Elliot nodded, "Now, don't take this the wrong way, Liv. Cathy was really upset and completely out of it, but…I don't know how to tell you this, but she accused me of having an affair-"

"But she knows you would never dare…" Olivia interrupted him. She couldn't believe Cathy would even think that Elliot would cheat.

"-with you." Elliot finished. He looked over to see Olivia's eyes grow big and her mouth hang open. Her bottom lip quivered, and she shook her head.

"Elliot…Oh, God…" Olivia kept shaking her head, "We would never…You and…me…Oh, God!" She looked down at her lap, and covered her mouth with her hand. Sudden visions of their life as partners flew through her brain. The silent looks, the warm embraces, and the heart wrenching moments when Olivia thought she had lost Elliot, and he, her. Everything had added up and presented itself to Cathy in the most fallacious way possible, "How could Cathy think that? She knows we would never even _think_ about…Oh, God!"

"I know, I know…But Cathy, she thought with the late nights and everything being the way it was…" Elliot shrugged, "I mean, if I were her, I might think we were…"

Olivia looked up, horrified, "El! How can you say that? We've been partners for longer than anyone else at SVU, and I have the utmost respect for you and Cathy. I would never come between you and your family."

She continued to stare at him, and he lowered his hand from her neck, "I know that, Liv. And I'm grateful, it's just…Is Cathy seeing something we aren't? I mean, is this partnership more than it should be? No matter how many times we try to convince ourselves that we're just partners, something always trumps it. I don't want it to ruin our friendship, but…I don't know…I just, I can't go on like this, Liv! You've always had my back, and I've always been there for you, but this is just too much…Can't we stand back and shake hands? Can't we just stop caring? Why can't we be the cold, unfeeling partners we know we should be? Why do you care about what's going on in my life? Why do I always worry about you? You can take care of yourself, right? Damn it!" He slammed a fist on the steering wheel, and shot her a helpless, torn stare. He didn't want to say these words to her, but he couldn't help but feel as though his wife and family depended on it. His relationship with Olivia was just…too much, "We can't go on like this, Olivia…I'm sorry, but we just…can't."

Olivia couldn't believe what she was hearing. It was Gitano all over again. Elliot was pushing her away; her world was collapsing and she couldn't do anything to stop it…

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><p>PLEASE COMMENT! I'd love to know what you think!<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

Voila! THE FIFTH CHAPTER! Are you excited? Cause I'm excited! I've never been so excited in my entire life! Well, except for that one time- You get my drift… Anyway, enjoy!

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><p>5th Chapter!<p>

**1:17 am**

The rest of the ride was silent and the air was thick with unspoken emotions.

Olivia was hurt, dazed, appalled, and completely astonished. She wanted all this to disappear. She wanted to crawl in a dark hole and die. She didn't want it to be real. She heard, listened and understood everything Elliot said, but she could not believe it. The harsh words crushed her, far more than she wanted them to. She just sat there, taking it like a big girl, and tried not to cry, although she felt so hopeless against the rush of tears.

_Elliot is upset about Cathy, that's the only reason he's hurting me. He just needs a punching bag, _she kept telling herself.

She hadn't meant to unleash Elliot's inner-fury, but she felt she needed to know what was going on. She also thought it would be better for him to let out some steam. Olivia just hadn't expected the steam to burn.

Elliot couldn't help but feel betrayed. Cathy should have always known his relationship with Olivia was strictly a partnership. Now he felt he needed to convince himself that that's all it was. Partnership. He had to persuade his conscience that he wasn't truly a shame to his family, and that his feelings for Olivia were nothing more than those of a business relationship.

As Elliot spoke those heartless, _mindless_ words, he felt reassured. He had never cheated on Cathy. He had merely been so involved with SVU that his family life was a second priority, when it should have been the first. He should have talked to Cathy about his work more often, but how could he possibly describe the gruesome crimes to her? How could he bring himself to tell her about the unfair and unjust world he tried so hard to protect his family from?

**1:23 a.m.**

The two detectives were so closed inside their minds that they barely heard Fin on the radio.

"Central to Portable do you read me?"

"_Central To Portable Do You Read Me_?"

"_CENTRAL TO PORTABLE DO YOU READ ME?"_

Olivia jumped when she finally realized Fin was trying to get their attention, "Portable to Central, we're here."

"Geez, don't do that to me you two! Scared me out of my wits!"

"If you had any…" Elliot chimed in.

"I heard that! Alright you remember the plan, right?"

"Um…yeah, we go in to the apartment, Lyles tries to attack us and then you and Munch come save the day, right?" Olivia guessed. She had too many things going through her mind that she almost forgot the mission.

"Well, no, we wouldn't be 'saving the day' exactly," Munch added, smothering on false modesty.

"What he means is that back up is right next door, so there shouldn't be any trouble apprehending him if we, for some reason couldn't get there in time," Fin tried to guide the team's focus back onto worse-case scenario.

"What do you mean, 'not get there in time?' We have ultra-crazy speed, man! We could save the day before it even begins!" Yet again, Munch was trying to lighten the mood.

But despite his vain attempt, every hint of happiness was extinguished from the group as the small trio of cars pulled into opportune parking places in front of the apartment building.

"Ok, you kids, go do your thing. We'll be right behind you," Fin said, reassuringly.

"You better be," Elliot mumbled as he turned off the car and took a deep breath.

Olivia could feel the tension in the air slowly vanish into the back of their minds. They were Michel and Rebecca. They could do this. They would do this.

The two detectives opened their respective doors and met each other on the sidewalk.

**2:15 a.m.**

"What's taking him so long?" Olivia whispered, taking a seat on the garage sale couch in the half decorated apartment Cragen had scratched up for their use. They had been waiting for several minutes, gun at the ready, but there was no sign of Lyles. They had a handheld walkie-talkie and were anxiously awaiting Fin's warning that Lyles was on the move, but Fin had only reported that the perp was still sitting in his car. There was no rushed attack, no sly break in, no movement what so ever.

Elliot had claimed the lounge chair, because it faced the door, and was carefully planning out scenarios in his head.

_If he knocks on the door and Olivia answers it, he'll probably try the charm factor and weasel his way in. He'll talk a bit, and go for me first, so I've got to be ready for anything. But if I answer the door, he may bully his way in and kill me whenever. _

Elliot continued his intricate planning, while Olivia desperately waited for Fin's signal.

**3:37 a.m.**

"This is insane!" Olivia let out a frustrated sigh, and grabbed the walkie-talkie, "Fin, what is going on down there? We've been waiting forever! What is this guy's deal?"

"I don't know. He just sits there, with the car on, and stares at the front door. I'm almost beginning to think he's not going to try anything tonight. Maybe he'll try tomorrow, or the next time he sees you at the bar…" Fin suggested. He and Munch were waiting in their car and were parked close enough to see Lyles as he sat.

Olivia shook her head, "No, I don't think he's gonna wait. We were exactly what he wanted, I could tell."

"Yeah," Elliot said, walking closer to Olivia so he could speak to Fin, "I don't think we can wait for another chance. And I don't want to risk getting caught as our real selves."

"Should we just arrest him now? I mean, I don't want to risk you guys getting hurt, either," Fin asked.

Olivia looked at Elliot, worry and concern written in her eyes. She knew what arresting Lyles now would mean, because she had gone through a case similar to this before. Harder court trials, and a tougher time trying to convince a jury that he would have attacked them. But if they waited for Lyles to really attack, it could mean putting their lives at stake. And who knew how long Lyles would take? It could be days, weeks until he tried anything.

Elliot knew what Olivia was thinking, and he knew that they had to make a decision, now. But little did they know that their decision making was about to get much easier.

"Elliot? Liv?" They heard Fin through the crackle of the static, "Um, I don't think you'll need to wait much more. He just turned off the ignition."

Elliot instantly reached for his gun, and took his position behind the door, while Olivia crouched behind the wall separating entry way from living room. They were ready, with guns aimed at the door.

"He's getting out of the car…and he's going inside…" Fin said through the handheld, "…he'll be there any minute…Your backup will be right behind him... " His signal gave out, and there was dead silence in the apartment as the two detectives waited for Lyles.

Eventually they heard the elevator _ding_, and the soft sound of footsteps in the hallway.

Elliot was surprised that Lyles had managed to figure out the floor number, without having followed them inside. Would Lyles know their apartment number as easily?

"Hey, Becca, do you want another drink before calling it a night?" Elliot said, loud enough for anyone outside the room to hear.

"What are you doing?" Olivia asked in a hushed voice, so as not to be heard be Lyles.

"He'll know what apartment we're in," Elliot explained.

Understanding, Olivia answered Elliot's faux-Michel question, "No, thanks, dear, I've had enough for one night!"

Suddenly, as if on cue, a knock came at the door.

Olivia and Elliot waited.

Another knock. Then another.

Elliot quietly looked through the peep-hole. He only saw blackness. Lyles must have put something over it.

"Um, who is it?" He asked as he slowly opened the door, not unlatching the chain-lock.

"Let me in, it's Andrew," Lyles fibbed, showing Elliot his face.

"Well, this isn't a good time. Becca and I were just about to-"

"Oh, I'll only be a minute. I just wanted to say 'hi,'" Lyles said, putting pressure on the door, trying to open it further.

"No, really, it's late, but we'll see you tomorrow!" Elliot tried to stale Lyles. He was hoping that backup was right around the corner.

"Let me in!" Lyles yelled finally, completely slamming his body against the door and breaking the lock. He pushed into the room and aimed his knife at Elliot, but soon noticed the gun pointed at his head.

"Drop your weapon, now, Lyles!" Olivia stated, holding her gun dangerously close to Lyles's skull.

"Lyles? Who's 'Lyles'?" He asked, still clinging to his knife, "Becca, come on you know me! I'm Andrew!" He turned towards Olivia holding his arms open to embrace her, "Come on, baby…"

"Stop right there, Lyles!" Elliot shouted, aiming his own gun at Lyles's head.

"Mike, how many times do I have to explain this?" Lyles asked, chuckling.

Between the two guns and two equally determined detectives, Lyles seemed to be out of options, when suddenly he swerved and kicked in the air, taking out Olivia's arm and throwing the gun across the room onto the floor. Olivia cried out in pain, and grasped her wrist, but quickly defended herself against Lyles. He tried to bring his knife to her throat, but she grabbed his arm and spun around, pinning his arm behind his back, forcing him to drop his knife.

"I've got him, El!" She yelled, tightening her grip on Lyles' arm.

"You bitch!" Lyles screeched, unleashing strength enough to turn the tables on Olivia.

From out of nowhere Lyles manifested a gun and held it to Olivia's head as he grabbed her and forced her to stand beside him.

"Drop the gun! Drop it now!" Elliot shouted as a fear worse than any he had ever known erupted in his heart.

"You let me walk out of here, and I'll let her go. You decide El," Lyles sneered as he pressed the barrel of the gun against Olivia's skull. She tried to fight back.

"Olivia, don't do anything stupid," Elliot said, desperately trying to remain calm, "Lyles, just let her go!"

Lyles raised an eyebrow, "So…He's fighting your battles for you, Olivia?" He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her against his side as he whispered into her ear.

Shivers ran up Olivia's spine and she struggled to break free, but was only met with the cold metal of Lyles' gun. She fought back anyway, not caring how much her life was at risk. She just wanted to prove she wasn't a failure to SVU, to Elliot…to herself.

"Olivia, please…" Elliot pleaded, looking into her eyes, "Please, Liv… Don't fight him, he'll only kill you."

Olivia didn't respond, but her eyes burned with hurt and pain. She was not about to become the victim, not again, and she was not going to stand there like some weak damsel in distress and watch as her knight in shining armor came to her rescue. She wouldn't be able to continue in SVU knowing she was so dependent on someone else.

Even so, Olivia knew Elliot was right. There was no point in fighting for her life if she was going to lose it anyway. So she reluctantly backed down and went limp under Lyles' grasp. But her eyes remained concentrated on Elliot and never broke from his gaze.

Lyles laughed under his breath and pressed Olivia closer to him, "Now that's a good girl, Becca. You just stay there like a rag doll and let the men talk," He then looked up to Elliot, "So, Elliot…Dear, dear Elliot…It's your decision. Let me walk out that door and I leave her unharmed. Or shoot me and, well, you can figure that one out." He casually wiggled the gun around in the air to prove his point. His grip on Olivia's arm grew tighter, practically crushing it.

There was a short silence as the two detectives exchanged worried glances. They spoke through their eyes, and tried to convince each other that there was only one option.

_Please, El, just shoot the son of a bitch!_

_ Olivia, I'm not going to lose you!_

_Don't stand there and think of me. I'm nothing!_

_ I can't allow you to risk your life!_

_Elliot, if he goes free because of this, you'll never forgive yourself._

_ I'll never forgive myself if you die because__of me!_

_Shoot him! Just shoot him! Please! I'll be fine._

_ No! If I pull this trigger, you die!_

"Enough small talk!" Lyles hollered, interrupting their silent dispute. He brought the gun to Olivia's temple and began to slowly pull the trigger.

"Don't shoot! _Don't shoot!_" Elliot held up his hands, and bent to drop his gun to the floor.

Olivia couldn't believe it and tried to reason with him, "Elliot, what are you doing? Pick up the gun! _Shoot him!_"

"Shut up Olivia!" Lyles and Elliot shouted together.

"Lyles, there's nothing you can do. We've got back up coming. They'll bust down that door any minute," Elliot stated. He prayed he was right.

"Well, that's just fine and dandy, but no amount of backup can stop me from blowing her brains out!" Lyles yelled, and began to pull the trigger, again.

"_No! Don't!"_ Elliot screamed.

Olivia's eyes widened as she watched Elliot completely surrender his gun and slide it across the floor to Lyles.

"Lyles," Elliot pleaded as though for his life, "Let her go."

"Woooowww…That's touching…" Lyles said, mocking Elliot's heartfelt sacrifice, "That's just…I can't describe it! That really got me here," He touched his free hand to his heart, "To bad it was all for nothing!"

_**BANG**_

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><p>And <em>that<em>, ladies and gentlemen, is how you do the "cliffhanger."


	6. Chapter 6

OK, I know you guys are freaking out, because that cliffhanger was very….cliffy…but hang on there!

HERE IT IS!

THE SIXTH CHAPTER! (AND THE FINALE!)

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><p><strong>3:43 a.m.<strong>

In those heart racing, mind boggling moments, everything seemed to fly by in a whirl of inconceivable velocity, while also morphing into the dreamlike aura of a heartless, deliberate time warp.

In the seconds before the gunshot, Olivia gasped and shut her eyes, a subconscious impulse to her capture's final words. If she was going to die, she didn't want to know when it hit her.

At the sound of the shot, Elliot held his breath and closed his own eyes. He didn't want to believe that he, Elliot Stabler, had let his partner down. He hadn't saved her. It was too late. Everything was his fault. Olivia, his _partner, _was dead.

Dead. Because of him.

Both detectives anxiously awaited their undeniable, unquestionable fate, when a sudden sense of disbelief and hope manifested within them.

Olivia heard a cry of pain from Lyles as he released his hold on her arm. She was sure the air should have escaped from her own lungs, but it didn't. She could hear her healthy, rhythmic heartbeat as blood rushed through her body. This wasn't right. It couldn't be real.

Elliot opened his eyes just in time to see Lyles collapse to the floor. His heart leapt when he saw Olivia standing there, unscathed, untouched, and safe. He wanted to jump for joy and sing at the top of his lungs, but he stood stone still where he was. The shock of what happened routed him to the floor. Through the hazy fog of his blurred vision, he could barely notice the rush of officers entering the room. His focus was concentrated on Olivia. She was the only person he could see; the only person he wanted to see.

"Elliot!" A voice pierced through Elliot's confused state of uncertain astonishment.

It was as if a chord snapped.

His body seemed to wake up, and within seconds, Elliot had crossed the room, and was holding Olivia in his arms.

"It's alright, Liv," He said as reassuringly as he could. He was still shocked by the truth: that she had lived. That she hadn't been killed.

"Elliot?" Olivia was frozen, and didn't move. All laws of reason told her that this wasn't possible.

"You're safe…You're safe…Dear God, I thought I lost you…" Elliot whispered as he held her closer to him.

As her fear subsided, Olivia slowly began to melt. She cautiously wrapped her arms around Elliot and returned his embrace.

_I'm not dead…Elliot's here…Everything's alright…_She thought to herself. As she stood in Elliot's arms Olivia felt safe; safer then she'd ever been in her entire life. She clung to him and didn't want to let go. She wanted to stay that way forever, surrounded by the warmth of an emotion so clear, so obvious, yet impossible to bring into light. She couldn't hold back the surge of tears and she buried her face into Elliot's shoulder as she tried to suppress her sobs.

Elliot heard her crying, and he wanted to take everything back. Everything they went through that night was his fault. He had questioned their partnership, and ended up destroying their friendship in the process. He had tortured Olivia, and that alone was enough to ruin everything they had. Just for a moment, they lost what they needed to survive. They had lost that edge. The edge that made them who they were: partners.

As the impending chaos of officers and EMS personnel infringed on their silent moment, Elliot and Olivia were forced into the world they didn't want to remember. They began to look around the room, and saw Lyles being carried out on a stretcher. He was obviously dead.

"Elliot! Olivia!" Cragen yelled from across the room. He made his way through the hoard of people, "Thank God you're alright. What the hell happened?"

"Captain, I can explain…" Elliot began.

"No, I don't think you can," Cragen said, slightly annoyed, but also concerned, "Where in the world were you two?"

"We were here the entire time, Captain," Elliot said, confused by Cragen's question.

"Well, you might have been here physically, but your minds were elsewhere," Cragen snapped, "I don't know what to do with you two anymore. How can you expect me to trust you to do your jobs after something like this happens?"

"Everything happened so fast, Captain, I just…We…I guess we zoned out."Olivia admitted.

Cragen nodded his head in understanding, but was still disappointed, "There is never a reason to 'zone out,' and you know that. I'm thankful that you're alright, but if Lyles hadn't shot himself-"

Olivia and Elliot looked up in shock.

"Wait, what?" Elliot asked. He was sure he'd heard wrong.

"How is that possible?" Olivia argued, "I thought our backup got him."

Cragen held up his hands to calm them, "Please, it's really quite simple. He shot himself."

Olivia shook her head, "No… but Lyles was going to kill me. He said he was going to kill me! Why in the world would he kill himself? Surely someone else shot him. That's got to be it, right?"

After a moment of brief thought, Elliot spoke, "He had no intention of killing you."

Olivia pushed her hair out of her face and took a deep breath, "He played us. He wanted to see us suffer."

"He knew I wouldn't shot him. He knew I wouldn't risk losing you," Elliot added, realizing his own weakness, "He knew I'd find some way to save you, even if it meant letting a perp go free."

Cragen nodded, "But Lyles' knew he wouldn't get away with it. He knew if he walked out that door there'd be a dozen armed officers waiting for him," He explained, "but he also knew that if he killed you, Olivia," Cragen said, turning to look at her, "he'd never see the light of day again," He motioned to Elliot, knowingly, "because Elliot wouldn't have let that son of a bitch walk out of here alive."

"So he did the only thing that could guaranty his freedom. He took the only life that was his to take," Elliot said, as he put an arm around Olivia's shoulders.

"His own," Olivia stated, looking at Elliot and searching in his eyes.

Cragen was called out of the room by a techie, and the two detectives were left alone. Elliot still held Olivia to his side, and she slowly brought her head to rest on his shoulder.

After a moment of silence, Elliot let his arm drop, but turned to face Olivia straight on.

"Liv, I…" He started to speak, but he just couldn't, "I…I'm sorry-"

"Please, don't-"Olivia interrupted.

"Elliot, Olivia," Munch called to them as he entered the room. He stopped, suddenly, when he realized his inopportune timing, "Oh, I'm sorry, guys, I'll be going now-"

"No, Munch, it's alright. We're done here," Olivia said stepping forward to meet Munch near the open doorway.

"Yeah, we're ready to go," Elliot said, as he took his place beside Olivia.

Munch nodded slowly, trying to decide if they were telling the truth. Had they really recuperated that quickly?

"Well, I need to take you two down to the bus. They want to check you out," Fin said.

"We're fine, Fin," Elliot shrugged off the request.

"Seriously, we're fine," Olivia said, rolling her eyes.

"Are you?" Munch asked, wanting to make sure they weren't just being stubborn.

Olivia looked at Elliot, "Are we?"

Elliot nodded, "Yeah. We're fine."

"Right...Well, you will need to give your statements, and I just know IAB will have a field day with this, so you'd better be as 'fine' as you say you are." Munch said, still concerned.

Both Olivia and Elliot let out an exasperated sigh, "We're fine, Munch!" They shouted.

"Alright, I give up!" He shrugged, defeated, and turned to exit the room with a swarm of techies and officers.

The apartment was practically empty now. The pain and distress of the night had settled in the foreground of their minds, but as the bustle of people began to subside, both detectives were left to the mercy of their silence.

They couldn't help but shudder at the thought of all they'd been through.

"We're fine…" Elliot whispered softly as he slowly reached down to grasp Olivia's hand.

"We're fine…" Olivia repeated to herself, taking a shaky deep breath.

They each stared off into nothingness, as the scene before them slowly faded into oblivion.

_The End_

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><p>HOW DO YOU LIKE IT?<p>

In an effort to receive more reviews and to make the reviewing process a bit easier, I have devised a rating system for you to use.

So, what's going to happen is, you will give 3, count 'em, THREE number ratings.

These rating numbers will apply to the entire story, as a whole.

The first number will rate me on my overall writing style. Did the scenes flow? Was the pacing alright? Was the phrasing and vocabulary up to par? Be honest.

The second number will rate the story's development and ability to captivate an audience. Did it make you want to continue reading? Or where you bored five sentences into it?

The final number will rate character believability. Where the characters true to themselves? Did their thoughts and actions reflect what the actual characters would do in the actual show?

The RATINGS:

**1.** Horrible! This should be put through the paper shredder and set on fire, it's so wrong!

**2.** What strange delusional planet are you from?

**3**. It was just bad…REALLY bad

**4**. Needs a lot of work. I repeat, A LOT of work.

**5.** Pretty Good-ish, could use some work

**6**. It was Ok, I liked it.

**7**. Nicely done, minor improvements needed, but nobody's perfect!

**8**. Practically perfect in every way! (keyword: practically)

**9**. More like a 9.8. (Because there's always room for improvement)

**10.** THE BEST THING EVER!

So, just type these THREE numbers, along with your regular review! (example: 6-7-5)

This will help me figure out what I need to work on, and what is good just the way it is.

THANK YOU! And stay tuned for more fanfic written by yours truly!


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